Alesco:
Wynn is still angry, I can see it in his eyes as he rises to his feet. He glares around the room and his eyes settle on me. "I don't trust this." He says. "I don't trust this at all. We should leave."
"No." I say. I don't know if I trust it either, I don't know if I should go through with it. I don't know what this creature that calls itself master is. But I've tasted power, tasted freedom and its pull is strong. I wonder whether its real, or if its all one big hoax. A trick.
But if its a trick, what's it for?
"Father sent us here, Wynn. He must have had a reason." I say. I wish he'd explained it more, but there was no time. Maybe mother knows more than she's said.
I look around the room at my companions. They are staring from Wynn to me, watching, waiting. They are under my orders at the master's instructions. It is clear that we won't be walking out of here any other way than to bring in the humans.
Fabian steps forwards now. "My lady, we need to know that he can be trusted." He says, pointing at Wynn. "Before we leave. We cannot have him endangering our task."
"I am here and I can speak for myself." Says Wynn, moving between me and Fabian. "I will do nothing to endanger my sister, and I will protect her, have no fear of that." He takes a step towards Fabian, leaning close to his face.
"And it would do you good to remember it too, in case you have any hidden plans."
Fabian smirks in response, meeting Wynn's gaze. "We all want the same things then. No problems here." He says. He steps back and bows a little.
"Time to go." I say. "I see no reason to delay. We'll head west. We'll leave the darkness when night falls and then we will remain alert. We'll act fast, we'll catch them, we'll bring them in."
How are we going to bring in a group of hunters? This is something I haven't given any thought to until now, but is important. There could be 15 or more soldiers in one of their parties.
"How will we bring them in?" I ask. Aldon steps forward.
"My lady, we need only bring a group. Five in number will suffice. We can carry them back." He says, indicating the others. They shouldn't weigh much by vampire standards.
"Very well. Then let's go."
Wynn steps to my side as the others turn and move towards the door. I look at him, his silent face is brooding, troubled. "Brother you said you would trust my judgement." I say.
"Yes, sister. I will follow you. But I warn you something is amiss." He says.
"I feel it too." I say. "But you did not see what I saw, feel what I felt. There is something deeper, something more to all this. We shouldn't be running and hiding." I say.
He's silent. I see he's not convinced. Maybe he picks up my own doubt, my own uncertainty. What can I say to persuade him, to settle him down, to make him feel better about what we have to do? I wonder what words will soothe his doubt.
"Brother, what choice do we have?" I ask.
His face lightens at that, a hint of his old self appears. It's only a hint, only a flicker, but it's there. "I fear you are right, sister, we have no choice." He says.
We're through the circular entrance hall and out amidst the houses once more, under the perpetually starry skies. I gaze up at the blue moon.
Eyes watch us as we move towards the forest edge, back towards the hut where my mother will be. Their stares feel oppressive. What do they find so interesting about our group? I meet some of their gazes, and they look away quickly.
"Alesco. What madness are you involved in?" My mother asks. We've arrived at her hut. I stop outside the hut and look at Fabian. "I will speak to my mother before we go." I say to him.
"Yes, my lady. We shall await you ahead." He says indicating a spot at the edge of the clearing, just before the trees begin.
I put my hands on my mothers shoulders and look into her eyes. I see her fear, her concern.
"Mother, I have a task to carry out. I have seen what can be, felt the power and strength we hold. By bringing in the hunters, our race will be brought closer to the freedom we deserve." I say.
"Alesco, I see doubt in your eyes."
I feel anger surge through me. This woman who has been lying to me my entire life, how dare she read my emotions. "Father sent us here. Don't forget that!" I say, my voice quiet but seething. "He sent us here and I have discovered a path, a route to freeing him and Clemente and the others. A way to free our people from the oppression of the hunters, to restore us to our rightful position at the top of the natuaral chain."
I see sadness in her eyes, but I don't care.
"You have lied mother, all through our life. There may be more you haven't said, more you have hidden from us. We are going, there will be no debate." I say.
She looks at Wynn, standing at my side. "Wynn, surely you can see sense..."
He cuts her off. "I don't know who you are." There is venom in his tone.
He turns to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go Alesco."
We turn and walk away, leaving her standing there, not looking back. I feel the guilt, the sadness, a sense of loss, but I push it aside. There will be time for that later.
"Are you ready, my lady?" Aldon asks as we reach them.
"Almost, Aldon. Before we go I want to understand something." I say.
"Yes, my lady. What would you like to understand?" He asks me.
"Why are you here?" I say to him. "Why do you do this mission?"
He looks at me, thoughtful, and pauses as though the question has caught him off guard.
"I want to free our people." He says, after a few moments. "I have seen the pain brought by the hunters, seen the consequences. Our people are being crushed and I wish it no more."
I nod at him. "Thank you." I see sincerity in his eyes.
"And you, Fabian?"
"My lady, for the same reason. My father and mother were captured, and I escaped. We should be able to live in peace." He says.
I go round them each in turn to understand their motives. Abel with his perfectly parted hair and gleaming fangs. Brendan with the constant burning fire in his eyes, Delano, his ebony skin almost blending with the night and Draven, the biggest of us all, the strongest.
All of their answers are similar, to end the oppression, to stop the running and hiding, and to prevent future families from being torn apart. To free those they have lost if it is possible.
None of them mention power, or blood, or reigning superior over the humans. I wonder if they are hiding it, or if it's just me who has tasted the power. What has the master told them? What tales have they heard?
But I think there is a sincerity to their words. And I think Wynn feels it too. He seems to have calmed somewhat. Accepted what we are doing.
"Let's go." I say. "Let us strive for all you wish for."
We step into the trees. Fabian is in the lead, he knows the route we must take, the pathway to the west, towards the humans. Immediately the trees are pressing in on us, but we move quickly, with light steps. There is no need for caution yet.
As we get further from the village the sounds pick up. The chirping birds in the trees above. I hear the light steps of deer or boar in the distance. In the mulchy floor of the forest I hear the rustling and scraping of the insects, and the pattering of tiny feet.
It feels good to be moving, to be away from the village, away from all the others. I'm used to being with my family on the run, since we left our village all those years ago. Vampires used to live in small family units. Villages and settlements sprung up as a defense when the hunt began. Or so my father told us.
Time goes on. And I'm lost in my thoughts and memories, wonderings and confusions. My new thirst for power, the deception of my mother and the unertainty of whether we are doing the right thing. It rolls around my mind like waves in a tumultous sea.
I'm snapped back to the moment as Fabian stops ahead of me. I can see the boundary between dark and light ahead. I see the sun light trickling through the canopy at the other side, illuminting the green of the leaves and highlighting selections of the forest floor.
"My lady, we should wait here until the night falls." Aldon says. I nod in agreement.
"There is still time until then, if you are agreeable I will send Brendan and Delano to hunt so we can feed before we go." Fabian says.
I nod again. It will be a good idea to eat. "Good idea." I say.
Brendan and Delamo take off into the trees, disappearing in silence. I lean against a tree and sit down to wait.
"If you need to rest, I can keep watch." Wynn says, looking down at me. I don't feel the need to rest, all the darkness and abundant food we have had has kept me in good physical form. If we lived as we have been living for the rest of time we would be in great physical shape. Although I feel it would probably harm us mentally, emotionally. I'm thinking of my own swirling thoughts and mixed emotions.
"No, I don't need to rest." I say. "I'm ok."
It doesn't take them long to return with food. Both Brendan and Delamo has a young deer each. I am offered first choice and I drink. We've been well fed since coming here so there is no surge of energy as we used to get with a meal, but I do feel the warm blood moving through me, charging me.
I pass the buck to Wynn. The other is being passed among the others.
Aldon and Fabian are the last to eat and they each drink deeply, as though unsure when they'll eat again. They cast the remains into the trees. The wolves will find them.
"We should all rest until the sun goes down." Says Aldon. "With two on watch at all times. I can take first watch."
"And I will join you." Says Wynn before anyone can speak. I can tell he still has trouble trusting this group.
I close my eyes and try and shut down my thoughts to rest. The calm, peaceful serenity of my meditative rest kicks in and I'm lost to the blissful nothingness. A welcome respite.
"Alesco." I hear my name, it's a gentle whisper, distant, calling.
"Alesco." Louder now. I open my eyes, coming alert. Wynn is looking down at me. "It's time." He says. The others are standing or getting to their feet. I look over at the border between the light and dark and see it's all dark. The earlier light from the sun has turned blue as the moon casts its eerie glow through the tree tops.
"My lady we are almost ready to move." Fabian says. "We await only the messengers of the master who will join us."
"Messengers?" I say. "What messengers?"
As though in response to my question a rustling fills the night. It's acompanied by padding and breathing. I sniff the air. Through the forest scents I can smell wolves.
They appear through the trees, padding towards us. Five of them, lead by the biggest, the alpha of the pack. The powerful legs propel them forward. They are larger than average wolves, about the height of a full grown deer. They are grey and white, in patches and shades across their entire form. Their ears are pointed, sharp and their eyes glow an emerald green.
The wolves stop in front of us, panting slightly, showing gleaming white teeth, sharp and deadly. They form a triangle shape behind their leader. He is gazing into my eyes. I gaze back. He looks to the sky and lets out a long howl, it reverbarates through the night. The others follow his lead and the sound fills my ears.
Fabian steps closer. "These are the messengers." He says. "They will accompany us at the behest of the master."
I look at the powerful creatures, howling into the night. How can they be messengers of the master? They are wolves. Wolves and vampires have always existed together. At least that's what the stories say. Too many questions, too much to know. For now I will accept it.
"Very well." I say, turning away from the wolves, to face the way we need to move.
"Then let's go and catch the humans." I say.
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